Thief River Falls - Ella Thun, 101, died Wednesday, October 1, 1997 at Northwest Medical Center, CNC Unit, in Thief River Falls.
Funeral services were held at 1 p.m. on Saturday, October 4 at Bethesda Lutheran Church in Strandquist with Reverend Douglas Norquist officiating. Music was provided by organist Orpha Schaffhauser and a vocal trio, Evangeline Carlson, LaVoi Thun and Yvonne Boen. Casketbearers were Kay Hanson, Milo Monroe, Jill Halvorson, Scott Thun, Debra Bruggeman and Dawn Higdon. Burial was at the English Cemetery in rural Strandquist. The Green Funeral Home was in charge of the arrangements.
Ella Margret Nelson was born March 31, 1896 in Lund in Marshall County to the late Rasmi and Emma (Bloom) Nelson. She attended school and grew to adulthood in Strandquist. She worked at a variety of jobs including her father's grocery and mercantile store, restaurants, cooked on a floating dredge for a dredging crew, worked as a rural mail carrier and the Strandquist Post Office.
On January 23, 1918 Ella was united in marriage to Gustav A. Thun in Warren. Gustav operated the Strandquist Elevator. The couple moved and farmed at Donna, TX until Gustav was called into the United States Army during World War I. Following his discharge they returned to Strandquist where they farmed until Gust's death in 1946. Ella remained on the farm with her son, Douglas, then moved to Strandquist and later to Karlstad. In 1993 she moved to Valley Home and later to the CNC Unit at Northwest Medical Center.
Ella is survived by a daughter-in-law, LaVoi Thun of Moorhead; a son-in-law, George Monroe of Warren; six grandchildren; twelve great-grandchildren; five great-great-grandchildren; one sister, Florence (Kore) Myhrer of Thief River Falls; and one brother, Reverend Merrill (Amy) Nelson of Pasadena, CA.
She was preceded in death by her husband, Gust in 1946; one son, Douglas, in 1989; one daughter, Evaleth Monroe, in 1995; her parents; two sisters, Minnie Elseth and Anne Hansen; and two brothers, Alvin and Clarence.